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Trekking O’er the Terrazzo in a Sharpstown Country Club Estates Home

From its artsy custom entry door in front (above) to its pea-gravel-surround pool, a Sharpstown Country Club Estates home that backs up to Sharpstown Golf Course faces turning 50 as a well-preserved specimen. Could its ground-bound roofline be a design nod to the street’s name (Tam O’ Shanter)? The 1965 property time-warped onto the MLS last week, asking $325,000.

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Between the foyer and living room, a see-through screen of decorative brick adds a lacy shared backdrop (above). Terrazzo in the foyer gives way to wooden flooring in the living-dining areas . . .

including in the kitchen, where there appears to have been a few updates at some points:

Terrazzo reappears around the somewhat open kitchen’s work area and in the informal dining area (above) with access to a covered patio. The adjacent family “room” . . .

has a raised hearth and a bar anchoring one corner of the room:

The 3,309-sq.-ft. home has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. Of those, however, only the carpeted master bedroom suite made the listing photos:

Both the master bedroom and its bathroom have direct access outside through sliding glass doors:

A portion of the covered patio accommodates an outdoor kitchen (above), table top, and access to the 3-car garage. There’s also a half-bath for use by the pool crowd.

Here’s the pool, which is across the yard. The lot is just shy of half an acre:

26 Comment

Really nice home need updating on the inside that is the weirdest master bath I have ever seen dual sinks in the middle on a island wtf. I do not know about home backing up to a golf course like that I would pass

The “needs updating” knee-jerk reaction that a lot of people have to mid-century moderns is one of the reasons there are so few good ones left. Unfortunately this one had some “updates” at some point, and now those previous updates are, well, dated. If it had been left alone & original, it would still have its classic features and would have more people fighting over it. Of course that wouldn’t appeal to folks who think that anything that deviates from whatever is sitting on the shelves of your local home improvement store or being slapped up by every production builder in the suburbs is somehow bad. “Needs updating” usually just means “let’s suck out the character, charm and personality out of it and dull it down architecturally, so it fits the more mundane taste of more mundane people.” If you find yourself house-shopping and inside a good original MCM and think, “needs updating” just go find the nearest Perry home instead and sign yourself up.

Nice. This home shows a lot of care. Even the oddly morgue-like master sinks! Maybe that’s the only place She and He got to see each other and talk “face to face” – huh? get it?
And Terrazzo! Where to begin lauding this material? Due for a serious resurgence.

Mealnie: To be fair to Shannon, that area does kinda blow. No offense if you live there. Though to be fair to anyone living there: if rather be in this area that out in katy or some other burbs somewhere.

@Brian D – “I do not know about home backing up to a golf course like that I would pass”
Ummm….there are tons of golf courses everywhere (in the world) with lots of homes backing up to them, and it’s generally seen as a desirable feature, as well as something for which to command a premium price. I can understand if you personally wouldn’t like it, but most people generally regard golf course frontage (back yardage?) as a hoity-toity feature.

@ Cody: I’m surprised you, of all people, would say that. The single family portions of Sharpstown are not nearly as bad as people would have you believe. Sharpstown County Club Estates, where this house is located, is a classic 1960s neighborhood with good sized, well built, reasonably priced homes, and an easy commute. The persistent bad reputation is a result of ongoing problems in the multifamily properties nearby, and the prejudices that a lot of people hold against postwar development.
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@Movocelot: Amen! We have terrazzo in our foyer, and it’s great! It’s been there since the house was built in 1960, and it’ll be there until 2060, easy. Definitely time for a resurgence in this material.

ZAW: Sorry, I should have been more specific. I don’t like the area personally, and I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s not terrible. There are lots of places that I “like” in terms of being willing to invest in because I think they are in good locations (or rather, close to what I consider a good location, thus making them good locations). This is why I said I’d rather live here (Sharpstown) than in Katy or some other far off “clean” area. At least Sharpstown is close to where I consider really good areas. Ditto 3rd ward, Riverside Terrace, and the area just south of RT. All those areas are so close to the areas I like, making them areas I feel fine to invest in (even though I wouldn’t really want to live there personally)

What a neat house — and I love these Sixties-esque bricks. And terrazzo floors! We need to see terrazzo more often.

However, I have to agree with everyone about that odd master bathroom. I wonder if it was custom-built, since it doesn’t look original to the house and would have been considered weird even back in 1960’s. The only other nit I would pick is removing that outdated striped wallpaper (helllooo, 1970’s) in one of the bedrooms. Otherwise, the house looks really awesome.

Thanks to clarifying, Cody. There are a lot of really cool older, smaller multifamily properties in Sharpstown. I dream of someday owning 7114 Fondren: it’s a drop dead perfect 2 unit Mod, all original, a little ragged around the edges.
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That said, I think everyone knows about Sharpstown’s reputation. But a) it’s grossly exaggerated, b) as you said, it’s very close to other, much more pricy neighborhoods, and c) the reputation is actually saving a lot of great Mods that, in more desirable neighborhoods, would have been replaced by McMansions.

Beware defending me Cody, that always can incur shrapnel. Honestly, those of you who love Sharpstown, great, but honestly does this area look like what you invision when you think of “Country Club Estates”—I’m sure a lot of people don’t care for Cody’s Montrose or my Southampton and that’s fine, I of course love Montrose and Southampton, but that’s my opinion, of which I’m entitled, just as you are.

Melanie I think you and I could be great friends. Opposites attract, I’m all ripped and bronze, with a flare for the theatrical, you’re all librarian sheik with your glasses and cardigan and Atkins Diet book in that old bag you carry as a purse. Let’s have lunch at Cafe Express, my treat.

Yes, that master bath island seems strange. Might have been an architect being clever, or it may have been the only way to retrofit two sinks. Can’t tell from the photo. The rest of the house looks nice.